Padded church pew seats



March 8, 1955 D. ENDICOTT PADDED CHURCH PEW SEATS Filed Oct. 26, 1955 United States Patent PADDED CHURCH PEW SEATS Don Endicott, Winona Lake, Ind., assignor to Endicott Church Furniture (20., Inc., Winona Lake, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application October 26, 1953, Serial No. 388,336

7 Claims. (Cl. 155-184) My invention relates to church pews, although ceitain features of my invention are not limited to church pews and may be embodied in seats for other uses.

Many church pews are simply wooden benches without any padding or upholstery, but such pews are becoming increasingly objectionable to people who are now accustomed to upholstered furniture in their oflices, living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, and even kitchens. Attempts have heretofore been made to afford additional comfort in church pews by providing them with padding usually in the form of a single pad extending substantially the full length and width of the pew. Such pads are hot and uncomfortable in hot and humid weather and have other objections which render them unsatisfactory for their intended purpose.

An object of my invention is to provide a new and improved church pew which is cool in summer and comfortable at all times.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved church pew which presents an attractive appearance.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved church pew which is quiet and will not squeak as a result of movement of the occupants thereon.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved church pew which is durable and which will give long and trouble-free service despite baby wetting and other hard usage.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved church pew which is inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a transverse vertical sectional view of a church pew embodying a preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the seat portion before this portion is assembled in the pew ends; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view of the seat portion taken in a plane parallel to and spaced from the plane of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a church pew comprising a seat 10, a back 12, and ends 14 of which only one is shown. In accordance with usual practice, the ends 14 are provided with bases 16 which rest on the floor of the church and may be tapered to compensate for inclination of the church floor. In comformity with conventional practice, the ends 14 may be recessed in the order of five-eighths of an inch to receive the ends of the seat 10, back 12, and the wedges 18 which assist in supporting the seat 10.

In the particular embodiment shown, the back 12 is composed of a plurality of boards 20 glued together to provide in effect a single board of the desired height. This is a common construction and is also commonly used to form the seat of the conventional pew. My novel pew may utilize the particular construction of back shown or any other suitable construction. My new and improved pew, however, embodies a seat having a construction entirely different from the seats heretofore used.

In the form of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the seat is composed of four boards 22, 24, 26 and 28 extending longitudinally of the seat. Each of these boards may be formed of a single piece of wood, or of strips of wood glued together to form a single board, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The boards 22, 24, 26 and 28 are spaced from each other and are 2,703,603 Patented Mar. 8, 1955 ICC provided with pads 30, 32, 34 and 36, respectively. These pads are preferably made of sponge rubber, but could be made of other suitable material. These pads are preferably glued to the seat boards and are protected and additionally secured to the seat boards by covers 38, 40, 42 and 44, respectively. I have found that a plasticized fabric, such, for example, as the fabric sold by United States Rubber Company under the trade-name Naugahide, is particularly suitable for this purpose, although these covers can be made of other suitable material.

The edges of the covers extend downwardly through the spaces between the seat boards and are turned over underneath the seat boards and attached thereto by suitable means such as the staples 46. The rear edge of the cover 38 extends downwardly between the seat board 22 and lower portion of the back 12, whereas the seat cover 44 has a portion 48 which extends around the front of the seat board 28 and protects and holds in place a portion 50 of the sponge rubber pad 36 which also extends around the front edge of the seat board 28. A molding 52 is preferably provided to protect the attached front edge of the cover 46 so that children cannot pull this edge loose with their fingernails.

Adjacent edges of the seat boards are provided with longitudinal recesses 54 which extend from end to end of the seat boards. Cylindrical dowels 56 of wood or other suitable material are located in these recesses and serve a dual purpose. One function of these dowels is to serve as an additional means for securing the covers 38, 40, 42 and 44 to the seat boards. Another purpose is to prevent relative movement between the seat boards and eliminate the squeaking which would result from such movement. I have found that a wooden dowel about five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and fitting snugly in the recesses 54 will accomplish both of these purposes.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a spline 58 attached to the seat boards by screws 60. I have found that where these splines are in the form of wooden boards about five inches wide and located approximately every four feet lengthwise of the pew that excellent results are obtained. Each of these splines may be a single piece of wood or may be formed of several strips glued together to form a unitary board. The ends of the splines are preferably chamferred as indicated at 62 and 64 so that they are not ordinarily visible.

The ends of the covers may be attached to the ends of the seat boards by tacks 66 (Fig. 2) or in any other suitable manner. As shown in the drawing, the ends of the two rearmost seat boards and the rearward portion of the ends of the next seat board are recessed into the pew ends 14 which cover the corresponding tacks 66. In order to give an attractive appearance to those portions of the ends of the seat which extend forwardly of the pew ends 14 I provide finishing caps 68 which may be made of wood having an attractive appearance and configuration. and secured to the ends of the two forward seat boards by screws 70 or in any other suitable manner. The back 12 is also preferably provided with a molding 72 which covers the screws which attach the lower end of the back to the seat board 22.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a new and improved church pew which is attractive in appearance and inexpensive to manufacture. Because of the construction of the seat with its four sponge rubber pads and separate covers therefor, air has access beneath the fundaments of the users and the pew is cool and comfortable to sit on in hot and humid weather. My novel construction is such that the pads and covers therefor may be made of durable and long-wearing material which is securely attached to the several seat boards. A further advantage of my invention lies in the quietness of the pew throughout its life resulting from the structural features which prevent relative movement and squeaking between the several seat boards.

It is to be understood that I have illustrated and de scribed a preferred form of my invention which may be varied considerably from the form shown and includes all modifications, variations and equivalents coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A church pew of the class described, comprising a 'se'atha'vin'g four spaced boards arranged substantially in a common generally horizontal plane, a sponge rubber pad supported on and adhered to each board, a plasticized cover extending over each pad and beneath its supporting board, staples securing said covers to said boards, said boards having longitudinally extending recesses in their opposed edges, cylindrical wooden dowels 'firmly secured in said recesses to hold said =covers smoothly and tightly and to prevent relative movement between said boards, splines arranged at intervals lengthwise of said pew, said splines being beneath said boards :and

attached thereto, a back attached to said seat, a molding for said back, a molding protecting the forward edge of the forwardmost cover, ends supporting said seat and back, said seat having side edges extending forwardly of said ends, and finishing caps covering said-side edges.

2. A church pew of the class described, comprising a seat having spaced boards arranged substantially in a common generally horizontal plane, a pad supported-on each board, a cover extending over each-pad and beneath its supporting board,fastening means securing said covseat having spaced boards arranged substantially in a common generally horizontal plane, a pad supported on each board, a coverextendingover each .padand between said boards, said boards having longitudinally extending recesses in their opposed edges, cylindrical dowels firmly secured in said recesses to hold said covers smoothly and tightly and to .prevent relative movement between saidboards, a back attached to said seat, and ends'sup- .porting said seat and back.

4. A church pew of the class described, comprising a seat having four spaced boards :arrangd substantially .in

"a common generally horizontalplane, a :sponge rubber pad supported on and adhered to each board, a plasticized cover extending over each pad and beneath (its supporting board, staples securing said covers to said boards, said boards having longitudinally extending recesses in their opposed edges, cylindrical wooden dowels firmly secured in said recesses to hold said covers smoothly and tightly and to prevent relative movement between said boards, splines arranged at intervals lengthwise of said pew, said splines being beneath said boards and attached thereto, a back attached to said seat, a molding for said bac'k, -and"means supporting said seat and back. 5. A seat of the class described,-comprising a plurality of substantially parallel spaced boards extending longitudinally of said seat, said boards having opposed edges provided with longitudinally extending recesses, dowels wedged in said recesses preventing relative movement between said boards, upholstery attached to said boards by said dowels, and supporting means for said seat.

6. A seat of the class described, comprising a plurality of substantially parallel .spaced boards extending ilongitudinally of said seat, said boardshaving opposed edges provided with longitudinally extending .recesses, dowels wedged in said recesses preventing relative movement between said-boards, splines arranged-atinterva'ls lengthwise .of .saidboards-and attached thereto, and supporting means for said seat. I

p 7. A seat of the class described, comprising a plurality of substantially parallel .spaced boards extending longitudina'lly o fsaid seat, :saidboards having opposed'edges [provided with longitudinally extending recesses, dowels wedged 'in said recesses preventing relative movement between said boards, and supporting means for said seat.

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